SCiO - the world's first pocket spectrometer

Israeli consumer electronics company Consumer Physics unveiled its first commercial product: the tiny pocket molecular sensor SCiO. This device will allow you to scan food, drinks, medicines, plants and any other objects, after which in a matter of seconds will present you their chemical composition in an accessible form.

SCiO works very simply: the spectrometer shines on the surface of the object under study with near-infrared light, thanks to which the object molecules begin to vibrate and reflect this light in a unique way for each substance. The reflected light is returned to the spectrometer, it is divided into separate radiation with different wavelengths, which are carefully analyzed. After analyzing the unique optical signature of the scanned material, the device easily determines what an object is made of.

Israeli researchers spent several years making the spectrometer as small as possible and minimizing its cost, because before that the spectrometers were quite impressive, and they cost so much that even serious organizations could not always afford to buy such a device. The cost of the commercial version of the gadget will be close to the mark of $ 199, and you can see its size in the photos - it will easily fit in any pocket. This is the world's first spectrometer, which easily fits in the palm of a person.

So, what can this spectrometer, in addition to chemical analysis of substances? With it, you can find out the level of nitrates in vegetables and fruits, and then decide whether to buy them or find safer for your health. SCiO is able to determine how much ripe avocado fruit you hold in your hands, or how sweet this watermelon is without resorting to the classic tapping and using a knife. You can determine the quality level of your sunflower or olive oil, as well as find out the caloric content of a particular dish. You will be able to find out how your home plants feel: do you water them well or do they need extra care? What to say about the scientific application of the device? After all, it will allow almost anyone to easily perform molecular analysis of a substance.

A special application for smartphones using a very nice and simple interface will teach you how to use the spectrometer, and will also keep useful records of the data in the general information base, where spectrograms will be sent from around the world to maximize the performance of SCiO.

Researchers created a page on the Kickstarter crowdfunding project, with which they plan to raise the $ 200,000 they need to start mass production of the gadget. At the time of this writing, they have already managed to recruit 175,000, which vividly demonstrates the interest of the public in such developments. If you want to be one of the first to get SCiO, you can contribute 199 dollars and in August of this year to get the world's first pocket spectrometer.

The article is based on materials https://hi-news.ru/technology/scio-pervyj-v-mire-karmannyj-spektrometr.html.